Come On and Sit By My Side
by Saturday People
Summary: [Billadam. Ars Amatoria Ranger Romance Challenge. Slow Updates.] Shades of not-so-cool.


Adam had heard stories about the Rangers fighting "clones" of themselves, and it sounded like Billy had a fair share of them. He had only met the one from art class, and looking back on it, Adam had no idea how he and the others didn't figure it out sooner. They all knew that Billy was __off__ , but why didn't the thought " _Hey, this guy obviously isn't the genius we all know and love_ " cross their minds until it was too late?

 _'_ _ _Well it's too late__ now.' He thought as he leaned against one of the counters in Billy's garage. The two of them talking about Billy's past experiences as a Ranger then __that__ clone had come up and Adam __tried__ to fill in the blanks.

"That was the only time a clone actually took the time to try to impersonate me. Sounds like it didn't try hard enough though," Billy said with a laugh.

Adam smiled softly as he stared at his hands. "Yeah, you at least talked to Violet. He just..."

Billy grimaced. "Oh jeez, was he rude? Violet didn't say when we were on that date-"

"No. No. He just kind of... ignored her. Made kind of a show of it, honestly. I remember Kimberly looking like she was going to explode when he avoided looking at her at all costs."

Billy relaxed, somewhat. "That's not too bad, I suppose. To be honest, I've been feeling guilty about how he might've treated her for months."

"Is that why you two uh... never quite hit it off after that?"

"No. I, er, I suggested we just stay friends after the third date," Billy mumbled as he placed his tools down and turned around, back now facing the counter as he leaned against it too. "She was clearly more interested in me than I was with her... Don't tell anyone about this but... She showed me a binder full of drawings of me..."

Adam blinked. It was kind of weird when Violet debuted not one but __two__ sculptures of Billy in that art class. But Billy didn't seem to mind that, too much anyway. Adam vaguely remembered feeling a little put off of the girl that day, more than usual anyway since she barely tried to contain her near worship of his then crush to begin with. The idea of her scribbling drawings of her idol back then didn't seem too odd considering things. Adam shook his head before looking at Billy, who looked a little uncomfortable.

He felt his expression soften as he moved a little closer to the other, and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, unsure if Billy wanted to be touched more than that. "What happened? If it's okay to ask."

Billy sighed, leaning into Adam's touch, making the latter's heart flutter.

"These sketches and _watercolour paintings_ of me were rather detailed. It was like looking in a mirror from all sorts of angles. I didn't even know I had a birthmark under my right ear." There was a light laugh as he brushed his fingers against the spot. "Then there was the stuff of her and I __together__..."

"Together?"

"They might as well have been wedding photos, which made her bring up ' _ _our'__ plans after we graduated... needless to say, I was uncomfortable with the idea of marrying her right out of school then trying to go to the same university. __Her__ choice in one." He stopped before shooting a look at Adam and smiling sadly. "By that I mean... completely disregarding my own feelings and plans for the future for her. My parents and I have aiming for Harvard ever since they realized my interest in science and proficiency in academia, my intelligence-that doesn't sound vain, does it?"

Adam shook his head, inching a little closer to Billy. "It's not, I promise."

Billy smiled sheepishly, pushing up his glasses. "Anyway... she had this whole life planned out for us. Or rather, herself and this fun house reflection of me she had in her mind. One that I could probably never live up to."

Their hands brushed against each other on the edge of the counter, making Adam swallow hard. He took a small but deep breath before hooking his pinky around Billy's. His heart fluttering once again at the contact before soaring at the realization that Billy wasn't pulling away. Giddiness bubbled up inside him like carbonation in soda, tickling the inside of his rib cage. He sighed, the sound making him realize just how quiet the room was. Could Billy hear his heart beat from over there? He blushed.

"If... it helps," he started, words desperately clawing into his throat and refusing to come out. "...I like you. A lot. I like you for __you__ , Billy. If you wanna go to Harvard, then I support you all the way." He could hear Billy's breath hitch. He felt Billy's gaze on him, but he didn't want to look up. "I... I just hope that I can keep up, y'know? But I don't want you to stop or slow down for me. You're just so... you're amazing." Words were now spilling out of his mouth and onto the floor, quickly pooling around their ankles like a bad flood. "You're so smart and confident and funny and just... you could do anything, Billy."

"I hope you realize you're all those things and more, Adam." __That__ made him look up in surprise, only to smile at how red Billy's face was, contrasting heavily against the bright blue polo he was wearing. Billy pulled his hand away momentarily to properly hold Adam's. It had felt so right. So perfect. "I like you for you too." They giggled softly as Billy pressed his forehead into Adam's shoulder to hide his embarrassment.

"Did I tell you about the 'clone' that pranked Mr. Caplan?"

It was a lame attempt to change the subject but Adam took the bait with a warm smile. "No, tell me about it."

"Well..."

 ** **End****


End file.
